It’s one in a melon

Ok, that was super cheesy – yes I know. But seriously, this recipe is just one in a melon because watermelon is THAT versatile. You can literally eat it anytime, anywhere with anything; sweet, salty, sour, bitter, you name it! It is AWESOME!!!

Have I convinced you yet?

Well, if I haven’t – the pictures of this salad will. But aside from it being a relatively inexpensive fruit to purchase, easy to manipulate, and a great addition to ANYTHING, it also has some decent health benefits.

First off , it’s over 90% water and we know we need water….have I mentioned previously I HATE water, cause I do. But I don’t hate watermelon. On top of that, there’s very few calories and each juicy bite has decent levels of some important vitamins like A, B6 and C, lots of lycopene, antioxidants and amino acids. Yay watermelon!!!

I was at the grocery store the other day and I saw all the watermelons, so I bought a few. Haha, yeah I have a grocery shopping problem. Most people are addicted to shoes, knick knacks, purses, etc….(I like shoes and purses, don’t get me wrong); but my happy place is the grocery store, farmers market, someones vegetable garden – like any place I can buy (or steal) food. Just kidding. I don’t steal food. If I’m standing in your garden I will ask you nicely with puppy dog eyes if I can take your zucchini.

Ok I’ll stop babbling now and post the damn recipe. This salad couldn’t be easier, especially if you cheat and buy the balsamic reduction. It will honestly take you less than 10 min to put together. And the other thing is, that if you want to add a protein, you can pretty much throw anything in there and it will be delicious; steak, chicken, prawns, tofu, a piece of halibut…..need I say more.

*YIELD – 2 to 4 servings (2 as a meal, 4 as a side)

INGREDIENTS

Salad

1 lb. cubed watermelon

6-8 sliced strawberries

4 roughly chopped basil leaves

4 shaved radishes (I use a parmesan shaver)

1.5 oz. arugula

1 oz. shaved manchego

fresh cracked black pepper

*If you can’t find manchego, or it’s too pricey (because it can be), any hard mild cheese will do – parmesan, asiago, gran padano, even an aged gruyere or cheddar. It will change the flavour ever so slightly but that’s ok. Work with what you got and can afford.

Dressing

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp. balsamic reduction (give or take)

*I will post my recipe for balsamic reduction in the coming weeks, but for now – you can buy some really great ones in most grocery stores. I know they seem expensive, but they’re not so bad when you realize how little you need.

DIRECTIONS

This recipe is funny, cause in a way it’s not really a recipe. It’s just a guideline of the amount of the chosen items to put together. You should really use your own imagination. Because you might want more bite – so add more radish, black pepper, arugula or vinegar. You might want it to be sweeter, so add more watermelon, strawberries and balsamic reduction….you get the idea. Have a little fun.

But for the sake of making your life easier – use the exact amounts as I say and you’ll have a pretty balanced salad.

Add the arugula to the plate(s) you plan on serving/eating from.

in a separate bowl add the watermelon, strawberries, radish and basil toss together with the balsamic vinegar until combined. Then spoon this mixture onto the arugula.